It’s truly the end of an era for the Sault's 148-year-old historic downtown church.
On Sunday morning, the congregation at St. Andrew's United Church will bid a final goodbye to 712 Wellington St. E. The historic church property was put up for sale earlier this year — with a price tag of $995,000 — amid declining attendance and financial struggles.
“It’s a big deal for us to leave that building, but that’s what’s happening,” said Daniel Sharp, chairperson for the board of trustees at St. Andrew’s. “The congregation has been there for a long time, you know? It’s certainly a historic event for us.”
Originally constructed in 1875, the current building was completed in 1908 and was rebuilt in 1942 following a fire. Several parts of the church, including the Christian Education Wing and J.C. Pinch Auditorium, were added in the early 1960s.
Sitting on a 1.7-acre site, the church property includes 30,000 square feet of usable space with 92 paved parking spaces. And if everything goes according to plan, its sale will be finalized in the coming weeks.
Sharp says there’s a buyer for the property, with the sale expected to officially close at the end of November. “I don’t really want to talk about any of the details of the sale until after the closure,” he said.
But that doesn’t mean St. Andrew’s United Church is done: Sharp says its congregation will be sticking together — in a brand new location.
“We have arrangements in the works, but we’re not able to discuss that until all the arrangements are finalized,” he said.
St. Andrew’s is welcoming the public to attend its commemorative final service, which begins Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m.
“We have a great choir, and it’s a celebration of where we’ve been — and where we’re going,” Sharp said.
The final service in that building will be at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
- with files from Alex Flood